Section 182 Carefully you take to the stairs, your senses alert for any sign of danger. In the darkness your torch glows as a flickering point of light, reaching out and finding only cold stone and dank air before you. You can see however, that the stairwell is ancient beyond the reckoning of human years, and as you descend you begin to feel a vague energy forming in the air about you. Unsure as to what it might be you stop, listening for some hint of what is to come. You do not have to wait long. From somewhere far below you feel the first rush of a great power moving towards you. In the darkness you realise instinctively that you are in danger and turn quickly. Before you can take a second step back up the stairs you are hit from behind by a wall of wind, a solid thrust of air that strikes like a hammer blow, extinguishing your torch and throwing you out of the stairwell. All is black until you hit the ground once again, rolling in a flurry of dust and broken stone into the wall of the chamber above. In that moment you remember the advice of your brethren and curse at your lack of faith. If you are to explore the third level of Traebor you will need a Sharyah. You will have to go find one on this level before you can go any further. The power of the barrier you have encountered has not been endured without cost. Your ejection from the stairwell has left you bruised and battered. Roll a 1d10 and take that number from your endurance points. If you are low on points, and the deduction of this penalty would leave you dead, take only enough points to leave one remaining. The force of the blow was enough to harm you, but not enough to kill. With a few more bruises to add to the cost of your quest you light your torch, and then go about the task of gathering up your scattered equipment. This is a complication you had not counted on... Options: The stairs shall not let you pass until you have found a Sharyah. There are three other exits from this chamber and you should pick one to continue your exploration of this level. Choose an exit then turn to your Room Generation tables to determine where it will take you. The Torchlight Text Edition is the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. Any questions regarding this title, or any other book in the Chronicles of Arborell series can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au